Tuesday, 2 October 2007

Hazelnut Cartwheel for British Food Fortnight

The sixth British Food Fortnight runs from 22nd September to 7th October 2007. It is the biggest national celebration of the diverse and delicious range of food that Britain produces.

In my quest to make something British and slightly different, also using a local ingredient, I looked through various books and searched the Internet until I came across the All British Food website. There I found a great recipe, with a fabulous name, that used cob nuts (or hazelnuts) from Kent - my own county.

I bought my cob nuts from the local farmers' market, shelled and roasted them - but you could use any nuts - pecans would be good too. Don't skimp on the lemon rind in this recipe, it really adds a zing, and try and use all butter puff pastry if you can find it.

Cream the butter and the sugar together until pale and fluffy. Beat in the egg and then stir in the cake crumbs, hazelnuts, raisins and grated rind of the lemon.

Spread the mixture over the pastry to about half an inch of the edges. Roll up lengthways (like a swiss roll) and place on a baking sheet, lined with baking parchment paper. Twist into a circle shape and seal the ends together. Snip into the ring at 1½ inch intervals, being careful not to cut right the way through.

Brush with beaten egg to glaze and bake at 220ºC (425ºF) for 25-30 minutes. I tuned the oven down slightly for the last 10 minutes as it was nice and brown on top, but still needed a bit longer.

Sprinkle with caster sugar and serve warm with cream, it's also good cold.

Hi Nicisme, I'm back from a class and came to your site. Your Hazelnut Cartwheel looks divine. I love hazelnuts (cob nuts apparently), and the combination with puff pastry, lemon zest, sugar, and butter sounds truly delightful. Funny that it's the British Food Fortnight, because we had a British woman from Bristol in our class used "fortnight" and none of us knew how long that meant. Well, now I know, so a two week celebration of food sounds like my kind of adventure. Thanks for sharing your recipe!